Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family #1)

Published:  June 21st, 2011

Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family #1)

By: Melissa De La Cruz

Disney-Hyperion

ISBN-13:  9781401323905

The three Beauchamp women -- Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid -- live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island.  Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences.  But they are harboring a mighty secret -- they are powerful witches banned from using their magic.  Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries.  Ingrid, her bookish daughter, had the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity.  And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities.  But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret.  Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer hide their true selves.  They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople.  It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town.  When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

Review

       I was never intitally interested in reading this series when it first came out, especially since I quit Melissa's Blue Bloods series by book #4.  Her writing in the past had never impressed me and I didn't even care to try.  Then I checked out Season One of the Lifetime TV show, based on these books, from my library.  I got addicted to the show within just one episode (and took my younger brother right along with me :p) and decided that I should stop being ass-backwards and just give the book a shot already!  This being the first in the series, I wasn't expecting much beyond the normal fluff, world-building and character introductions.  Maybe I enjoyed it as much as I did because I was picturing the wonderfult characters from the TV show.  But I was suprised by just how much I did happen to enjoy this particular bit of fluff!

       We get to see each chapter from a different Beauchamp woman's perspective.  Therefore we get insights into the minds of Freya, Ingrid, and their mother, Joanna.  All of them are immortal witches who have been banned by a council from using their powers, after an incident in Puritan-era Salem.  We aren't told exactly what happened, but are able to gather that it was verging on catastrophic.  The ladies are happy in North Hampton, with Ingrid working at the library and having a possible romance on the horizon with the handsome police detective, Matt Noble, and Freya on the cusp of marriage to wealthy Bran Gardiner.  But something is always missing from their lives.  The pull of magic becomes too strong to resist and they start using again,  Freya starts mixing magical drinks at the bar where she works.  Ingrid starts weaving knots to help people with their problems, doing an open hour at the library when people can come to her.  And Joanna is just using magic to amuse their housekeeper's little boy, who reminds her of her own lost son, Frederick.  

     A lot of people complain that nothing really happens in this book and it is a slow burn, I will admit.  Especially since there is seemingly nothing for them to discover.  Unlike on the TV show, Ingrid and Freya are not continuously reborn/reincarnated and they know about their powers.  It's very much about the daily monotony of life and the choices the women make for their lives.  But a chain of events is set off when Freya sleeps with Bran's brother, Killian, at their engagement party.  Another chain starts when the girls start using their powers.  It all culminates in a girl's disappearance and the start of a witch hunt by people who had previously revered the Beauchamp's recently revealed powers.  The book ends in an answer to the mystery, but opens more questions with a startling mythological revelation.  Let's just say that the witches aren't necessarily witches, but something far more ancient and powerful.  I will not say anything else so as not to spoil, but while I do think the TV show is surprisingly better done, this was a quick and fun, fluffy read.  I'd recommend to those who like a bit of candy-floss now and then.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Hold My Hand

Expected Publication:  July 1st, 2014

Copper Magic

By: Julia Mary Gibson

Starscape/Tor

ISBN-13:  9780765332110

Can an unearthed talisman found on the shores of Lake Michigan save 12-year-old Violet's fractured family?  Exploring themes of Native American culture, ecology, and conservation, this historical fiction novel comes brilliantly to life.

The year is 1906, and twelve-year-old Violet Blake unearths an ancient talisman --a copper hand-- beside the stream where her mother used to harvest medicine.  Violet's touch warms the copper hand and it begins to reveal glimpses of another time.  Violet is certain that the copper hand is magic -- and if anyone is in need of its powers, it's Violet.  Her mother and adored baby brother are gone, perhaps never to return.  Her heartbroken father can't seem to sustain the failing farm on the outskirts of Pigeon Harbor, on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Surely the magic of the copper hand can make things right for Violet and restore her fractured family.  Violet makes a wish.  But her ignorant carelessness unleashes formiddable powers -- and her attempts to control them jeopardizes not only herself, but the entire town of Pigeon Harbor.

In Copper Magic, land and waters are alive with memories, intentions, and impulses.  Magic alters Violet and brings her gifts -- but not always the kind she thinks she needs.  First-time author Julia May Gibson brings Violet and her community to life in this impressive and assured debut.

Review

     Violet Blake has been living with just her father on their farm for months now, ever since her mother took her baby brother Francis (aka Fry) and left.  Violet doesn't know why she left, when she's coming back and is actually starting to believe that both her Mom and her brother are actually dead.  Twelve year old Violet is stuck between a child and a teenager, outgrowing her shabby clothes and trying to stay a kid, but being forced into responsibility be her meddling Aunt.  The property down by the lake has been "bought" by church people, who are setting up camp for the summer.  Violet makes friends with a preacher's kid and one day by the lake she finds a copper hand, that she thinks is magical.  Maybe the hand can bring back her family and put her life back to normal.  But when the copper hand unleashes powers that Violet can't control and that could cause a lot of harm, and it is taken away by priveleged people who don't understand it, it's up to Violet to save the hand and return it to where it belongs before it's too late.

     The main draw for me was the fact that this book is set in Michigan, near Lake Michigan.  It also didn't hurt that this was a historical fiction book set in my home state.  I love me some decent historical fiction.  The tone was very reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, but without the stately wisdom that seems to assert itself in that novel (even with the main characters being children).  Violet Blake is our protagonist in this one, and while I get that kids were a hell of a lot more innocent/naieve/less jaded in the early 1900s for the most part, I just did NOT feel like I was reading something from the point of view of a twelve year old.  I honestly couldn't think of Violet as any older than nine or so years old.  Especially since most of this book centers around her unwavering belief in the magical powers of a hand made out of copper!

      Probably my favorite thing in this book as I was reading, ended up being the usage of Native American mysticism and culture to bring home the power of belief to make things change.  Also, I really loved the way Gibson portrayed the Native American people in this novel (Violet is actually the product of a half N.A. mother and a white father).  She doesn't ignore the racism and demeaning cultural attitudes of the time period, but still manages to make the characters rich and very developed.  They are never just convenient stereotypes.  There is also some beautiful imagery to do with the beaches, the Hotel that draws in the tourists every summer and the general natural beauties of Michigan.  The biggest complaint on my part would probably be the lack of personal change of Violet's part.  She spends the whole summer apprenticed to a famous lady photographer, trying to make wishes on a magical artifact and trying to retrieve the hand once it's been stolen.  Not to mention her issues with her father and her Aunt, who wants to make Violet into something she's not (and doesn't want to be) - a proper young lady.  Yet for all the heartache and trouble that the hand and her naievte bring into her life, Violet never seems to change all that much during the ensuing drama and tragedy.  Even the aftermath doesn't seem to affect her all that much.  I did appreciate the unresolved nature of the situation with Violet's Mom.  I liked that things were nowhere near as simple as she had made them, and that Violet and her Dad went in search of her Mom, instead of just taking the easy out, and having her return.  Overall, it's a very well written, historical fiction novel worth reading if you like a good mystical mystery.  I just feel like it belongs more in the middle grade catergorization than in the YA pool of novels.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is July 1st, 2014.*

Siren's Curse Book Blitz - Release Date: December 5th, 2013

Title: Siren's Curse

Author: Sara Jiang

Date of Publication: December 5, 2013

Circe only has seven days to live… and time is ticking.

Long ago, Sirens were cursed to stay on the rocks. If they ever stopped eating human flesh, their horns would pierce their bodies and they would die.

Circe had a choice: stay on the Perch with her sisters, feeding off of sailors for all time, or to dive into the deep, face the unknown, and take her chance at freedom.

On her journey into the ocean Circe meets a precocious little sea dragon, a heart-throb shark, and an eel with a vengeance. She comes face to face with witches, madmen, monsters, and a mysterious, loud rumbling that seems to only be getting louder.

Can she break the curse?

Purchase from Amazon | B&N

About Sara Jiang

Sara Jiang was born in 1991 and lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean for 3 years when she was younger. This exposure to the ocean influences much of her art and writing. She is currently studying for her Bachelor's in Vocal Music Education at Abilene Christian University.

Sara Jiang does commission artwork and recently won Abilene Christian University's Summit Art Contest with one of her pen and ink drawings.

Website | Twitter

Colorless and Fading Away...

Expected Publication:  April 1st, 2013'

A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine # 1)

By: Jaclyn Moriarty

Arthur A. Levine Books

ISBN-13:  9780545397360

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds -- through an accidental gap that hasn't appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called "color storms;" a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the "Butterfly Child," whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses...

Review

 

     Madeleine and her Mom have moved away from her Dad, to a new life in Cambridge.  Everything is strange and colorless to her, and her Mom is acting sick and lost, sewing for a living when her only job used to living as a rich socialite with no worries.  Elliot has been searching for his Father for almost a year - ever since him, and a female teacher from Elliot's school went missing.  That happened the same day that Elliot's Uncle John died under mysterious circumstances.  Both of the teenagers are dealing with family issues and complicated friendships, but there is one big difference between them - Madeleine is living in the 'real' world and Elliot is living in Cello, a magical kingdom where colors are dangerous and there are hostile, anti-royalists causing major problems.  When Madeleine discovers a letter crammed into a parking meter and responds on a whim (not believing anything Elliot says, of course) they inadvertently become pen pals.  Carrying each other through some of their most difficult times, Madeleine and Elliot learn the true definitions of friends, family, life, and love.  But when each of them are in mortal danger, can the other find a way to come to the rescue from the other side of the barrier?  I felt like this book was a really odd patchwork of things that didn't quite fit together the right way.  Moriarty's Ashbury/Brookfield series is one of the few Australian teen writings that I can read through, let along like - and I love it very much! But this felt like she was trying to merge the wonderfulness of her realistic, contemporary books written in correspondence, with some very innovative magical world building/writing.  It did not work AT ALL for me as a reader.  It took forever for anything to happen to Madeleine, because it seemed like the majority of the action and focus was going on in Cello, where Elliot was living.  Madeleine's bratty and totally unsympathetic attitude didn't help.  The revelations about her Father and her friends came a little too late for me to connect with her sympathetically as a character.  Elliot was the one I connected with most, but I never felt like I had a good grasp on what was going on in his world.  The color attacks still baffle me and make absolutely no sense whatsoever.  By the time I reached the end of this novel (it took me 3 weeks to slog my way through, when my average is a couple of days!) I was completely disgusted, bored and just glad to be done with it.  I think a lot of people will really like it, needless to say it but I wasn't one of them.  I can't in good conscience completely bomb its rating, when the world building for Cello was halfway decent.

 

VERDICT:  1/5 Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is April 1st, 2013.*

Please Crash and Burn

Expected Publication: March 5th, 2013

Let the Sky Fall (Let the Sky Fall # 1)

By: Shannon Messenger

Simon Pulse

ISBN-13: 9781442450417

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.

Review

     Vane Weston miraculously survived a tornado ten years ago that killed his parents, but he can't remember how he did it.  In fact he can't remember anything of his life before aftermath of the storm.  Now Vane is seventeen and has been adopted by loving parents and has a great life.  Other than the fact that some higher power seems to be sabotaging his love life.  Audra isn't a higher power, but she is a sylph (an air elemental) who has been charged with protecting Vane from Raiden, the evil sylph who killed his parents and now rules their world with an iron fist.  However, when Audra makes a serious mistake and gives away their location, she has no choice but to reveal herself to Vane and admit that he is a sylph like her - and possibly the only hope of saving their kind.  But will he submit to learn the ways of his people and can Audra resist his attempts at winning her heart, even though it is forbidden?  

     This book was horrible.  I only finished it out of courtesy to the tour site that graciously allowed me to read it.  For one thing, the minute the villain was revealed as being named Raiden, I couldn't think of anything other than Mortal Kombat for the rest of the book.  It made me laugh during parts the author probably intended to be very dramatic.  I couldn't stand Vane at all.  He was a spoiled, whiny, brat who only thought of himself.  He was constantly making things harder on Audra for his own amusement and I wanted to slap him for most of the book.  Audra was way too submissive and 'woe is me' to be appealing as a heroine.  The 'romance' that develops between them was entirely based on lies for about the first 2/3 of the book.  Then she finally tells him the truth and he doesn't care, so they stay together.  Yeah right!  Also, like the Gale Force would give up on their idea of Vane's arranged marriage that easily.  Vane's adoptive Mom gave a glimpse at why he was such an unfeeling prick.  I instantly disliked her and the way she treats Audra is unpardonable, unless she was deserving of it, and in those instances she wasn't.  The ending to the whole situation was not at all believable, but the twist about who was responsible for the death of Vane's parents was something I did NOT see coming.  So I can't entirely say the author completely bombed out with this one.  Overall though, not a book that I would ever recommend to anyone who likes to empathize and identify with characters and root for them.  I spent the whole book hoping Vane and Audra would get the Wicked Witch of the East treatment - and with the amount of high winds and tornadoes I am disappointed that they didn't. 

VERDICT:  1.5/5  Stars

**I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on March 5th, 2013.**

Tempest Unleashed On An Unsuspecting World

Expected Publication: June 5th, 2012

Tempest Unleashed (Tempest # 2)

By: Tracy Deebs

Walker Children's

ISBN-13: 9780802728302

Tempest Maguire is happy with her decision to embrace her mermaid nature and live among her mother’s clan within the ocean’s depths. Even though training to one day ascend the throne for the aging mermaid queen is rigorous, she finds refuge in the arms of Kona, the selkie who first opened her up to her mermaid side. But when word comes that one of her brothers has been gravely injured on land, Tempest immediately rushes to his side—which also brings her back to her old flame, Mark. And in her absence, a deadly battle begins raging at the hands of Tempest’s old nemesis, the sea witch Tiamat. As the dangerous war erupts, Tempest’s two loves—Kona and Mark, sea and land—will collide for the first time, both to protect her and to force her to choose.

Review

   Tempest has decided that she owes it to her Mother's people to live with them and one day become Queen of the mermaids.  But she is having trouble letting go of the last vestiges of her human life.  Her romance with Kona, the one thing she was certain she could count on is also suffering.  All because Tempest can't let go of Mark, her human ex-boyfriend, completely either.  Then the sea-witch Tiamat strikes out at her human family, forcing Tempest to rush home once more.  All the while Tiamat is attacking Tempest's people under the ocean while she is distracted by the illness of her youngest brother, Moku.  When Tempest and Kona go back underwater, both of their villages have been severely harmed by Tiamat.  Tempest tries to find Kona upon learning some horrific news about his family and learns that he has been taken by Tiamat and a mer traitor who is helping her in the quest for power.  Now Tempest must swim into a trap and use all of her wits, strength and love to find a way to defeat Tiamat and rescue Kona.  Also, Kona isn't the only one who has been kidnapped.  Can Tempest save herself and both of her loved ones?  Or will one of them be left in the murderous grip of the sea witch?  This book was interesting like the first one, but it had some extremely weak points in my honest opinion.  Tempest began to truly annoy me with her chronic inability to make a choice romantically and let it STICK.  Now that she has chosen to be with Kona, she wants Mark back and dreams about being with him again.  Seriously, after the very selfish and completely absentminded way she treated him in the first book when Kona came onto the scene, NOW she freaking wants to be with him?????  And her complete disregard for her family until there's a major crisis is pretty grating.  I liked the mermaid mythology and prophecy of the first one.  However, the 'muhahaha' mentality and characterization of Tiamat got to be a little bit much for me to handle.  I had to laugh at the devolvement of Tempest and Kona's relationship though.  That is what should happen to all of these fake, YA insta-love relationships.  Insta-lust is a more accurate description.  I didn't care for the way that the plot developed which felt at times too slow and then at others way too fast.  I will not be reading the next book if there is one.  ESPECIALLY not after the horrible way this one ends.  If you want a good mermaid book, find another series to read.  If you love Twilight, this is the series for you.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is June 5th, 2012.*